Schumann Op. 22
Read in Chinese HERE (中文版)
Wow, right now as I listen to my old recording of this amazing sonata, I feel I love this sonata more than anything else in the world again. I was totally in love with this piece when I learned it. I still remember when I had to decide the recital repertoire, I told my piano teacher I would like to play Schumann Op. 5, but she thought it's not very suitable, and that I should choose something more popular. So I chose this one. I think nobody can resist such a remarkable sonata. Schumann should really be proud of himself ^ ^
I love all movements in this sonata. I think I don't usually like each of the movements in a sonata. There is usually a favorite one, and a least favorite one. So now you can probably see how much I love this piece. There are four movements. It is difficult to play his music because there are usually a lot of voices. We all know mainly there are soprano, alto, tenor, and bass in a choir, but when you see these four voices in Schumann's piano works, you'd want to ask him "Why are you doing this to me?" Haha, just kidding! It is quite challenging, and it takes more time than usual to practice this piece because you need to learn each of the voices first, which is similar to the process of learning Bach's fugue. It's worth it when you take time to go through each of the voices, and you'll surely find it fascinating to see those surprises that the composer had given us.
The first movement is extremely intense that it makes people get excited and agitated right from the beginning. I think I should do it better regarding the transitions between passages. In this recording it's like I didn't notice these transitions, so it's stiff, and even harsh in some parts. Sometimes we just need to notice those we haven't noticed yet, make subtle changes, and it will make huge differences. The transitions are really special and beautiful, so we have to make extra effort to take care of them well. As for the second movement, it's the slow movement. As I mentioned last time, I had started knowing how to enjoy playing the slow movements back then. There is something we all should notice, which is breathing. Singers can easily feel their breath in between each phrase, but as a pianist, you probably don't notice that your fingers need to breathe as well. Try to feel the connections between your fingers and the piano keys. There's in and out. There's pull and push. There's up and down. Take time to explore what you can do on the piano with your fingers. Also, notice how breathing affects your body. Especially in the slow movement, we need to control our breath well, but controlled breathing doesn't come naturally to us, so we have to train ourselves to feel it when we inhale and exhale. To exhale slowly is not easy, but it can help us make long phrases in the music, which can be very helpful to make the music in a holistic sense. The third movement is Scherzo. I like this short, interesting Scherzo very much. It's not hard, but it's a good time to practice your octaves and those jumps on the piano. The last movement was the most difficult one for me, probably because of all those sixteenth notes, and those repeated patterns. Always check if your hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, and body are relaxed or not. Don't let your muscles get tensed when you focus on the music. Be aware of it. It can help a lot!
💙 Read Another Post: "Tempest"
The first movement is extremely intense that it makes people get excited and agitated right from the beginning. I think I should do it better regarding the transitions between passages. In this recording it's like I didn't notice these transitions, so it's stiff, and even harsh in some parts. Sometimes we just need to notice those we haven't noticed yet, make subtle changes, and it will make huge differences. The transitions are really special and beautiful, so we have to make extra effort to take care of them well. As for the second movement, it's the slow movement. As I mentioned last time, I had started knowing how to enjoy playing the slow movements back then. There is something we all should notice, which is breathing. Singers can easily feel their breath in between each phrase, but as a pianist, you probably don't notice that your fingers need to breathe as well. Try to feel the connections between your fingers and the piano keys. There's in and out. There's pull and push. There's up and down. Take time to explore what you can do on the piano with your fingers. Also, notice how breathing affects your body. Especially in the slow movement, we need to control our breath well, but controlled breathing doesn't come naturally to us, so we have to train ourselves to feel it when we inhale and exhale. To exhale slowly is not easy, but it can help us make long phrases in the music, which can be very helpful to make the music in a holistic sense. The third movement is Scherzo. I like this short, interesting Scherzo very much. It's not hard, but it's a good time to practice your octaves and those jumps on the piano. The last movement was the most difficult one for me, probably because of all those sixteenth notes, and those repeated patterns. Always check if your hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, and body are relaxed or not. Don't let your muscles get tensed when you focus on the music. Be aware of it. It can help a lot!
💙 Read Another Post: "Tempest"
Comments
Post a Comment